Chapter 580: The Disassembled Doll

A strange sensation spread from the bottom of his heart, as if his consciousness had instantly leaped across an indescribably vast distance of time and space, been extracted and teleported to the border of the universe. But before Yu Sheng could confirm what that feeling was, he saw all the starlight in his field of vision start to shake violently, and then the phantom of the great ship sank into countless chaotic ripples.

He instinctively stepped back half a pace and saw the fissure before him dissipate in the tremors—spreading pure white crystal branches filled the gap where the fissure had disappeared, and new fissures began to brew again in the crevices of the crystal branches.

Yu Sheng opened his eyes, his consciousness experiencing a long journey in an instant, returning once again to the courtyard.

The sky-covering crystal giant tree still stood before him. Countless tiny space-time fissures hidden in its canopy drifted with light and shadow, still growing slowly.

Luna, who was nearby, immediately sensed something and stepped forward two paces: "Are you all right, sir? What happened?"

"...Seems like I saw something incredible," Yu Sheng said slowly, rubbing his forehead and taking a moment to speak. "Luna, did this tree undergo any changes just now? While I was 'zoned out'?"

Luna immediately shook her head: "No."

"Is that so..."

Yu Sheng said thoughtfully, then looked up at the crystal tree before him, at its massive canopy that had already covered the entire courtyard, and at the tiny streams of light hidden within the canopy.

The properties of the Boundary Bridge... connecting time and space... the knowledge flooding into his mind... that scene just now—had it really come from the edge of the universe?

"Luna, you and the knights keep a close watch on this tree's growth, especially those space-time fissures growing out of the canopy—if anything changes, let me know immediately."

"Understood."

Yu Sheng nodded, and then his consciousness slowly withdrew from this wilderness of the soul.

However, just as he was about to get some more sleep, a "bang" sound transmitted from the real world directly jolted him awake.

It sounded like something had exploded.

Yu Sheng opened his eyes and sat up from the bed in one motion. He saw that outside the window, it was bright daylight; the time had probably already passed noon. In the corner were the four neatly arranged doll cases, but the blonde Erin, who had originally been sleeping on the bed, was nowhere to be seen.

Just as a sense of foreboding arose from the bottom of his heart, he heard a "click" sound from the master bedroom's bathroom, like something falling to the floor. Not even a few seconds later, the bathroom door was carefully pushed open, and the blonde version of Erin sneaked out like a thief. Then she looked up and met Yu Sheng's eyes as he sat on the bed.

The small doll sported a blonde afro, the golden hair on her head puffed out like a winter fox's tail. Her small face was blackened with soot, with only two azure eyes sparkling brightly on that dark face.

Noticing Yu Sheng sitting on the bed, the small doll, who had been trying to sneak out, immediately stopped in her tracks. She blinked a couple of times, then grinned awkwardly: "Hey, hehe... good morning, Yu Sheng."

Yu Sheng saw two rows of small white teeth appear on Erin's blackened face, and a wisp of blue smoke drifted out as she spoke.

"...What were you doing?"

He asked expressionlessly.

Erin pointed at herself: "This body can't charge up~"

Yu Sheng's eyelid twitched. He turned to press the lamp on the nightstand, but it didn't light up.

The circuit breaker had tripped.

"You snuck off to stick your finger in an electrical socket this early in the morning?!"

Erin put her hands on her hips when she heard this, completely unrepentant: "It's noon now!"

People really do laugh when they're too speechless. At this point, Yu Sheng was actually amused by the little thing. He looked at Erin with her soot-blackened face and afro, twitched the corner of his mouth, got out of bed, and grabbed the small doll by the collar. As he walked toward the bathroom, he muttered: "Didn't I say to wait until I wake up before studying your shrinking problem? And this is your original body that you worked so hard to get back—aren't you afraid of breaking it by messing around like this? You're at least three thousand seven hundred years old—can't you act a little more mature..."

Erin probably knew she was in the wrong, and instead of getting angry at being scolded while being dragged by the collar, she turned her head and grinned at Yu Sheng with her two rows of small white teeth, giggling foolishly. At the same time, the four doll cases in the corner were pushed open from the inside, and four Erins lined up neatly behind Yu Sheng, ready to wash their faces in turn.

Seeing this state, Yu Sheng couldn't even get angry. He could only set the blonde Erin on the sink first. Then he turned on the faucet to adjust the water temperature while saying, "Wait, I'll get you some hot water. That face is black, and we need to deal with your hair too... Oh, right, the power's out, no hot water—you'll have to make do with cold water."

Erin agreed cheerfully, and after realizing that Yu Sheng wasn't angry, she quickly grew bold again. Then she raised her hands, cradled her head, and shook it left and right, making a "pop" sound as she pulled her head off and handed it to Yu Sheng: "Here, it's easier to wash this way."

Yu Sheng was still running the water and hadn't noticed what the little thing sitting on the sink was doing. The next second, he saw the small doll holding out her head—and he froze there. It took him a full two or three seconds to process what he had seen, and he immediately let out a robust: "Holy crap?!"

Erin showed a mischievous look of having pulled off a prank, holding her head and laughing uncontrollably: "Hahaha, I really scared you—"

Yu Sheng was completely freaked out at this point. After all, anyone who sees a three-inch doll sitting on a sink, holding its own head and laughing while swaying left and right first thing in the morning (even if it was noon now) would not be in a good mental state. He resisted the urge to throw Erin out of the bathroom and pressed down on the little thing's body: "Stop laughing! Stop swaying! First, explain what the hell is going on with you?!"

Erin then placed her head on the edge of the sink, while the other four bodies gathered around Yu Sheng's feet, chirping and chattering:

"I discovered it when I got up!"

"I was startled at first too."

"When I stretched and moved my neck, it felt like it could come off..."

"And it really did come off!"

Yu Sheng's head was buzzing. He repeatedly checked the headless doll body sitting by the sink, then looked at the blonde afro head placed next to it, only to see that the head was blinking at him. After a few seconds of holding it in, he finally spoke: "Can you put it back on?"

"Yeah," the blonde head said, then strained to squint toward the side, "And it's not just the head."

Yu Sheng: "What do you me—"

Before he could finish his question, he saw the small doll on the sink twist her arms, and then both arms fell off, starting to crawl creepily across the sink countertop.

They crawled with great enthusiasm.

Yu Sheng was dumbfounded. Just as he was about to draw a cold breath, he saw Erin lean back again: "My legs can come off too. Look, look—"

Then Erin started crawling all over the sink, scattering in pieces everywhere.

Yu Sheng had to admit that, ever since Erin came out of that painting, he encountered all sorts of stunts from this doll every morning, but this was still the most jarring wake-up call he'd had so far.

When Erin's left hand crawled past his line of sight for the third time, Yu Sheng finally couldn't take it anymore. He quickly gathered up a pile of the small doll's parts (that was the only way to describe it), grabbed one arm and the torso, pulled up the sleeve to look at the two joint structures, and confirmed after a long check that there were no signs of damage.

"They can all be put back intact?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Not at all."

"...How does that work?"

"Hahaha, Yu Sheng, it's finally your turn to say that!!"

"Don't change the subject," Yu Sheng said, frowning deeply as he set Erin's body down. "How did this happen... Weren't you repaired and reassembled back then? And..."

"Is it not possible that ball joints are meant to be taken apart and put together?" Erin argued confidently, lying on the sink. "And didn't Malin say that an authentic Alice doll has certain joints that aren't sturdy? It's a blessing from the Ancient Spirits..."

Yu Sheng: "She said 'certain' joints—not every single joint!"

"That means I'm very authentic," Erin said, even sounding smug. "I'm a three-thousand-seven-hundred-year vintage, authentic Alice doll..."

Yu Sheng was suddenly struck by an overwhelming exhaustion from this carefree little thing. He opened his mouth a few times before finally managing: "Can you put yourself back together? Don't always need someone else's help every time. Let me tell you, this is even more awkward than combing your hair..."

Before he could finish, he heard Erin reply with full confidence: "Yeah."

Then the pile of doll parts on the sink began to reassemble at lightning speed—Yu Sheng saw fine threads appear among the freely moving limbs. They were not the black spider silk he was familiar with, but pale gold, shimmering filaments—the threads guided the limbs, completing the reconstruction of the entire body within seconds.

The only thing left was the head, because Erin was still waiting for Yu Sheng to wash her face.

Yu Sheng blinked. The golden threads just now seemed to linger in his vision, leaving a faint glow at the edges of his sight. It wasn't until the small doll waved in his direction that he snapped out of it: "Wait, what was up with those threads just now?"

"I don't know either," Erin said, raising a hand as if to scratch her head, but she scratched at nothing. So she picked up her head and hugged it, scratching it instead. "When I woke up and was messing around taking things apart for fun, I discovered that the 'strings' released by this body are different from the others. The color changed, they can glow, and they can be used to help reassemble the body. I haven't figured out other functions yet... but somehow, I just knew how to use them, like instinct."

"Messing around taking things apart for fun..." Yu Sheng almost choked on Erin's choice of words, but at least he could finally confirm that her being scattered all over the place wasn't because she was broken again, but because she had really developed a new ability.

Thinking this, Yu Sheng couldn't help rubbing his chin and looking at the small doll sitting on the sink, holding her own head, with an unusually serious expression.

This "original shell" of Erin's seemed even stranger than he had imagined... It looked like they really needed to study it thoroughly.

(Chapter end)